Awards

NCTE Advancement of People of Color Leadership Award

Application Details

2022 Recipient: Sandra Lucia Osorio

Erikson Institute, Chicago

Sandra Lucia Osorio is an associate professor of raciolinguistic justice and director of teacher education at the Erikson Institute. She earned her PhD from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, under the direction of Anne Haas Dyson. She is a former early childhood bilingual educator who worked with children from diverse racial, ethnic, and linguistic backgrounds for over 10 years. She was also a Fulbright Distinguished Teacher Fellow in 2012–2013. Her own personal narrative growing up bilingual and having a deficient-based identity placed upon her because of her linguistic and cultural differences has served as a source of motivation to become an educator and researcher.

Her research interests include rich discussions with multilingual children around children’s literature, as well as how to better prepare early childhood educators  to work with students from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds. She specifically looks at the implementation of culturally sustaining pedagogies that put students’ dynamic community languages, valued practices, and knowledges at the center of the curriculum and practices implemented in the classroom.

Her work has appeared in journals such as the Bilingual Research Journal, Race Ethnicity and Education, The Reading Teacher, Theory into Practice, and Urban Education. She is currently one of the editors of NCTE’s Language Arts journal. She has participated in many amazing programs through NCTE that have led to tremendous growth in multiple areas, including Cultivating New Voices Among Scholars of Color and Professional Dyads and Culturally Relevant Teaching (PDCRT).

“Professional literacy educators have a unique opportunity to build on the wealth of knowledge students bring into the classroom, especially multilingual and students of color who have been historically marginalized. Educators have to recognize that they cannot do this work alone but instead have to do it with and for the communities they serve. I have been able to grow in not just my own literacy practices, but in my leadership and advocacy skills because of individuals who went before me and have supported me throughout my journey, which includes my CNV and PDCRT families.”

Award Details

The NCTE Advancement of People of Color Leadership Award (APCL), established in 2007 and first presented in 2008, is a special award given to an NCTE member of color who has made a significant contribution to NCTE and the development of our professional community. We remind nominators, nominees, and selection committee members that members of NCTE Conferences—CCCC, CEL, ELATE, LLA, and TYCA—are members, by definition, of NCTE.

Deadline May 1

Purpose:
To promote and support the advancement of communities of color in the profession and contribute to promoting equity and dismantling racism.

Frequency/Number of Awards:
This award will be bestowed only when the APCL Selection Committee decides a nomination warrants presentation of the award. The composition of the selection committee includes POC from various groups within the Council, e.g., caucuses, affiliate groups, and assemblies. This award may not be given each year. This award may be given to a deceased person. Only one recipient will be selected each year.

Current NCTE Executive Committee members are not eligible for this award. Recipients for this award are not eligible to receive any other Executive Committee approved awards in the same year, nor in the following year.

Eligibility:
People of color refers to historically underrepresented groups: African American, Black Diasporic communities, American Indians, Asian Americans, Latinx, and Pacific Islanders. The APCL Selection Committee will consider nominations from current NCTE members. The Executive Committee will approve the committee’s selection. It is customary that recipients of this award have a significant history of advancing POC in NCTE-affiliated venues and platforms and have held membership in NCTE for many years.

Nomination Requirements:

Required materials for submission are a cover letter or letter of nomination and a resume/CV.

Award Criteria:
The bold statements are the award criteria. The remaining statements are intended to describe some of the possibilities suggested in the criteria and are not intended to be rated individually. Please remember that different individuals have different levels of access to various opportunities (for example, small rural and urban vs. large rural and urban contexts).

Significant Contributions to NCTE:

• Service contributions supporting NCTE and advancing individuals and communities of color (national, regional, local, and campus levels as well as conferences, affiliates, assemblies, caucuses, etc.)
  • Committees
  • Elected roles
  • Advocacy and program support
• Writing/presenting/editing/reviewing at NCTE-affiliated conferences/publication venues that contribute to literacy research, development, and innovative practice related to issues which disproportionately affect people of color

Development of Our Professional Community:
Professional communities focused on activities/work/processes that promote and support the advancement of communities of color in the profession, contribute to promoting equity and dismantling racism in their community locally, nationally, and in NCTE, in literacy-related activities, and in public engagement. Literacy learning can be varied (e.g., global, national, regional, and local/campus)

• Teaching
  • Developing district/state/national curriculum
• Scholarship
  • (Co-)research with community members
  • (Co-)publish with community members
• Advocacy of policy and practices that influence and advance understanding of equity and antiracism
• Professional development
  • Offer professional development school/training for community members

Strong candidates tend to show strength in all areas.

Selection Committee:
The NCTE President appoints one Executive Committee member to serve as Chair and four NCTE members-at-large from relevant NCTE groups.

Award Specifics:

• A plaque is given to the recipient during the NCTE Awards Session.
• The recipient will also receive:
  • A complimentary NCTE Annual Convention registration
  • Domestic round-trip coach airfare to the NCTE Annual Convention
  • One-night lodging (Friday) with meals

Application Deadline May 1

The application period for 2022 is now closed.

Please contact NCTEAwards@ncte.org with any questions.